


I Embody His Fears

by InksandPens



Category: Real Person Fiction, Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders, Video Blogging RPF, markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: Dark thinks he's found an ally, Septic egos - Freeform, Thomas Sanders is a pure bean, and a high ceiling, are here too but none have dialogue so none are tagged, but he's not in the tub this time sorry, can't believe I thought I could make this a oneshot, chaotic neutral Host, check your reality, don't ask where this story is set because I'm clueless, fanon emo meets canon emo, huge windows that are too high to actually see out of, probably has industrial lighting, some sorta venu with lotsa tables that requires a door but I don't know much else, spoilers: Dark has not found an ally, the Gatorade comes back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 12:19:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14378520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InksandPens/pseuds/InksandPens
Summary: Two creeps in eyeshadow discuss frights and relationships. It doesn't go how either of them expected.Or: why you should really do your research before meeting other big YouTube names.





	1. Chapter 1

The gathering or meeting or whatever this was supposed to be had been called so suddenly that no one even knew who was expected to be there. As irritating as that was on its own, is also left Dark with no time to profile the attendees, meaning he was walking into this nearly blind. Whether one was scouting potential allies or potential enemies, it helped to know something about them before actually meeting.

Dark didn’t have that luxury this time. As he approached the door of the rented hall (he had traveled separately from the others; the less time spent in Mark’s presence the better) he reflected on who he did know had been invited. Of Mark’s Egos, Will and Google had both made the list, as had the Host, despite technically being a Cyndago Ego. In a group they made sense, but King of the Squirrels had also been invited, and when compared to the rest of them Dark couldn’t fathom as to why. The connection eluded him.

Turning the knob, he stepped across the threshold.

His first thought was a sort of resigned annoyance, because apparently the Irishman’s Egos had been invited as well. He couldn’t see any traces of Anti, but in the middle of the space the cat-masked magician was engaged in conversation with Will and a man dressed in white with a red sash draped across one shoulder. Google sat by himself at an empty table, but his calculating gaze was trained on another unfamiliar man who seemed to be attempting to teach the silent film star Morse code. His manner of dress was businesslike and his manner of conduct seemed to match, barring the irritated glances he kept throwing at the center group. Upon closer inspection, he shared a face with the man in the red sash.

The zombie stood stiffly near where King was absorbed in discussion with a third bearer of that face, who’s expression reminded the dark Ego of Trimmer. As he watched, the cheerful man gestured to the back of the room, where a fourth bearer of his face was idling with the septic gamer himself. The two seemed to be occupied with something on a cell phone, which the Host also appeared to be lending an ear to.

Also in the back of the room, at another unoccupied table, was the final unfamiliar figure. It took a moment longer to associate his face with that of the other four, but underneath the heavy eyeshadow the bone structure was a definite match. His posture was hunched and guarded underneath a patchwork hoodie, his eyes continuously scanning the room as he nursed a bottle of Gatorade. Mark was nowhere to be seen.

As his stare lingered on the shadowed figure, their eyes met. The other’s eyes narrowed. Dark held his gaze.

He continued to do so even as a familiar, pastel-clad arm threw itself over his shoulder. As the jolly voice of his one real friend filled his ear with talk of some “Princey,” he let himself be tugged away, only breaking eye contact when someone else stepped directly into his line of vision.

“Greetings, good sir!” a voice proclaimed as if to an auditorium of admirers. “Mister William here tells me you head things up in your neck of the woods?”

Dark considered the red-sashed man before him. He stood almost military straight, shoulders back and head held high. His smile was practiced, but no less genuine than the confidence that lit his eyes.

Dark decided to smile. “Some might say that. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince…”

“Roman. Just Roman is fine, we’re all friends here.”

He mustn’t have been here very long. “Very well. And how about your group, are you in charge?”

“Alas, not in all respects,” the royal answered with a gusty sigh. “If you asked Logan he’d say he’s the brains of the group, but I’m the one who thinks outside the box!”

The professional man had glanced their way at the name ‘Logan.’ Before anyone had time to notice, Dark had caught Google’s eye and sicced the android onto the other man with naught but a tilt of his head. He’d collect the report later.

“Oh, is he finally done talking to that guy?” he heard Roman remark as Logan broke off his conversation with Jameson to face the newcomer. “Good, I wanted to ask him about those old screenplays. Em, eh, but before I go…”

Dark turned back to the Prince upon hearing his more subtle tone. “I know I kinda interrupted your little staring contest with Draco in the back there. My advice is: if you want to talk to him, approach carefully. Gentlemen.” And with a flourished bow, he departed.

Approach carefully. Was that a warning? How much sway did the one in the back hold over his brethren? Curious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And apparently this is going to be more than one chapter? Good grief, purposefully writing dialogue that is easy to misinterpret is harder than it looks. Well, the scene has been set, at least. 
> 
> My basic idea for this was, Dark knows nothing about the Sides, so he’s gonna filter the bits he does glean through his knowledge of his own relationships. Eventually he’ll realize that this leaves him with an understanding that is far from accurate, but…journey not destination, right? And yes, this will consist mostly of Darkiplier trying to socialize with complete strangers, because my brain decided that was the best way to go about this. 
> 
> The Septic egos I picked to include in this don’t really have any rhyme or reason to them; I’m not as familiar with Jack’s Egos as I am with the others, unfortunately. It seemed wrong to not invite them, though. 
> 
> Yeah, Dark thinks Roman is saying “Don’t screw up or he’ll annihilate you.” Roman is actually saying “If you come on too strong he might run away.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Huh, wonder what that could’ve meant.”

Dark wondered too. He glanced at the figure in back, but he didn’t seem to have realized he was being talked about. He had gone back to scanning the hall incessantly. He was still alone at the table.

“I’m going to find out,” Dark declared. He paused for a moment, before turning back to Will. “Alone.”

“You mean talking to Gloomy Gus back there? Yeah, no thanks. That guy in the cardigan looks more fun!” And he was off to join King in conversing with the smiling man, who beamed as he introduced himself.

Dark reassessed the room. Brody had arrived at some point and the zombie and magician had gone to greet him. Google was still engaged with Logan. Jameson was listening with rapt attention to something Roman was punctuating with many emphatic gestures. The Irishman was on the phone with someone, and the other unfamiliar man was listening to the Host, nodding every few seconds. 

‘Approach carefully,’ the Prince had said. He hadn’t sounded fearful or anything when imparting this advice, meaning the two unfamiliar Egos must be on decent terms. And if the Prince cared enough to give him a warning, Dark must’ve made a good impression. A little surprising, seeing as he’d barely spoken to the other.

So, how to go about this? Dark had been containing his aura since he’d arrived, so he shouldn’t look too threatening. He didn’t want the other to think he was being challenged. Things would get ugly unless he cared about keeping the meeting civil, in which case he’d probably take measures to avoid interacting at all. At the same time, Dark didn’t want the other to get the idea that he was someone to be trifled with. If he came off as too weak, the other might not think him worth considering.

Such a delicate thing, balance. 

As he ran these thoughts through his head, Dark had been making his way over to the back table. On his way there he passed the Host and his conversation partner. 

“Upon catching wind of Darkiplier, the Host pauses his suggestions for writing a realistic Dragon Witch and requests that the Ego introduce himself to Mr. Sanders.”

Dark halted, turning to the other two.

“Please, it’s just Thomas.” The unfamiliar man, Thomas, shook his head a little before extending his hand. “Thomas Sanders. And you’d be Darkiplier, right?”

“Correct,” Dark responded neutrally as they shook hands.

“Cool, cool. I’m, eh,” he broke eye contact briefly, “the head of the pack, I guess you could say.”

Dark nodded, keeping his face expressionless. He didn’t usually interact with the creators of the other Egos, preferring to spend his time among the Egos themselves, no matter how rambunctious their antics.

No matter their own relationships with their creators.

It usually wasn’t an issue; with said relationships ranging from outright loathing to politely neutral to businesslike affinity to practically oblivious to…whatever Anti would call his, he had yet to meet an ego whose affection for their creator could be considered more than moderate, and he was fine with that. Secure in his hatred of his own creator, he hadn’t stopped that distaste from bleeding over into his opinion of other ego creators in general.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the lone figure at the table look their direction.

“Sensing that Mr. Sanders is growing uncomfortable with the awkward silence, the Host offers to share some general information on Darkiplier since the ego is rarely disposed to do so himself.” The blind Ego ignored the startled “What, hey-” from Thomas and continued his narration. “Dark, as he is often known, began as a concept entertained by fans, and as such interpretations of his character varied greatly. Compared to how long he existed as a fan concept, it has only been recently that Dark was dubbed an official Ego by Mark himself, who developed the ‘canonical’ version of the character that now stands before us. While many fans will harken back to the days when he was portrayed as a romantic figure, a vampire, or an idiotic emo,” the Host had to suppress a grin at that, and Dark would’ve reminded the narrator of his place if he hadn’t noticed Sanders focus on the word ‘emo,’ “Dark in his current incarnation is representative of everything our creator is afraid of. His inner demons, one might say.” 

“All his fears, huh?” Why did Sanders sound sympathetic. Dark inclined his head, willfully ignoring the outright grin that the Host seemed no longer able to hide. “That’s gotta be rough.” Thomas turned back to the narrator. “’Demon’ seems a bit much, though, don’t you think?”

“As Dark ponders the other creator’s reaction to this exposition, Mr. Sanders questions the Host’s word choices, considering his own relationship with the embodiment of his own fears.”

“Hey, don’t-” Sanders paused, and actually turned to look at the figure at the back table. Dark observed as their eyes met, realizing that the figure may have been watching them the whole time. He actually nodded at Thomas, who nodded back before returning his attention to the Host. “It’s just Thomas, and-okay so maybe we didn’t start out on the right foot but-”

It appeared that Dark had been effectively excluded from the conversation, but he didn’t mind. Upon witnessing the interaction between creator and Ego, he’d stopped paying attention anyway. The comparison, however slight, between himself and this character had thoroughly piqued his curiosity, and he wanted more than ever to figure this person out. And now that those two were wrapped up in their own conversation again, he could finally go straight to the source. 

He heard the Irishman end his phone call, and at the sound of Mark’s name, set off immediately. He wanted answers before his creator got here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, the Host is purposefully divulging only enough info to give his audience certain ideas. What can I say, he likes dramatic tension. 
> 
> Mark has gone on record saying that Dark is “the antithesis” of who he wants to be. In this way, Darkiplier is an embodiment of Mark’s fears. Thomas hears this description and, lacking several important details, mistakenly likens Dark to Virgil, who is a much more literal representation of his creator’s fears. 
> 
> I feel like giving a referential analogy, so: if Mark faced a boggart, Dark is who the boggart would turn into. If Thomas faced a boggart, Virgil would be the little voice in his head telling him what the boggart was gonna turn into.


	3. Chapter 3

The lone figure, who seemed perfectly content to stare Dark down from the other end of the room, almost seemed to be avoiding his gaze as he made his way to the table.

“May I join you?” he inquired, for the sake of etiquette. The other nodded with a small noise of acknowledgement. Undeterred, Dark pulled out the chair across from him. “I understand that you are one of Thomas’s Egos.”

At that, the other finally looked up, but his face sported confusion rather than acknowledgement. “Egos? Plural?”

“One of the characters he created.”

“Oh, yeah.” The other glanced down at the table. “We call ourselves Sides, though. Only one of us is really the ego.” His eyes moved up. Dark turned and followed his gaze to the Prince. He turned back.

“Terminology aside,” he resumed, “I would like to learn more about you. I would’ve look up your videos myself, but-” he injected some wistfulness into his tone “-the scheduling of this event was so last-minute that I was unable to.”

The other huffed. “Most people avoid me until they’ve seen the videos. Not that I have a problem with it.”

“You do project a rather stand-offish energy,” Dark commended.

“Good,” the other remarked. “But that makes me wonder why you’re over here. It obviously didn’t work on you.”

“As I said, I have little idea who you are and wish to become better acquainted. A colleague of mine introduced me to your creator already, though we didn’t speak much.”

“Yeah, I saw.”

He definitely wasn’t much for conversation. What was he concealing? He’d have to be blunt. “Neither spoke about you directly, but it was inferred that you are an embodiment of you creator’s fears. Is that correct?”

Nothing about the other visibly changed, but something seemed different in the instant he replied. “That sounds about right.”

Dark congratulated himself on finally getting and answer, appraising the other with new eyes. So, this was what Sanders feared? Aside from the closed-off manner and unusual makeup, he didn’t seem very scary. Then again, he could be concealing his true power, like he himself was at the moment. And if Dark didn’t plan on sharing that particular secret with someone he just met, he suspected the other wouldn’t either. “I believe we may be similar in that regard.”

The other looked at him again, longer this time, his gaze more searching. He smirked slightly. “You seem to have it together pretty well. How do you do it?”

Dark allowed himself a small smile. “A lot of it’s in the subtlety.”

“Mm, subtlety’s never really been my thing.” The other tilted his head. “We’re getting pretty detailed for two dudes who don’t know each other’s names.“

“Ah, my apologies. I’m known as Darkiplier. And you?”

“Call me Virgil.” Interesting. He’d been expecting something more menacing.

“Virgil. Now I’m assuming you know how vital the support of the fans is. How do you fare in that regard?”

Virgil almost seemed to retreat into his hoodie. “I’m…pretty popular actually. I’m not trying to brag-” and he sounded like he actually meant it “-but a lot of them seem to favor me. Even before…yeah. I’m up there.” He seemed to be downplaying his accomplishments. Why would he do that? Was he attempting to come off as unthreatening? “I, uh, Thomas didn’t really have time to look you guys up either, but since you’re asking, I’m guessing you’re high on the favorites totem too?”

“I’d say so.” Dark tilted his head. “You say your creator didn’t have time to look anything up. You couldn’t do so independently?”

Virgil seemed entertained at the notion. “Well, it’d be kinda hard, wouldn’t it?”

What? “I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

The other straightened as if he were explaining something to a distracted child. “It’s not like we can learn anything without him learning it first. Even everything Logan says is stuff he’s already found out about. Logan is just the one who actually internalizes it.”

Dark was only getting more confused, which wasn’t ideal. “And what does Logan embody?”

“He’s Thomas’s logical side. Analytical thinking, problem solving, the objective lens. Like I said, whenever Thomas learns something knew, he’ll remember it, no matter how quickly the rest of us and Thomas himself forget. Which also makes him the one in charge of memes, somehow.”

Dark felt his thought process draw up short. There was something here he wasn’t seeing. “What are the others?”

“I think you met Princey already; he’s Thomas’s creative side. Hopes and dreams, fantasy, imagination, his sense of adventure, his romantic nature. His daring side.” That last one was said with a bit of frustration. “He’s also the part of him that excels in artistic pursuits, so he’s in charge of all the singing and acting stuff. Since that’s what Thomas is largely known for among the general public, that’s why we all call him the ego.

“And Patton is Thomas’s heart, essentially. He started off representing just his sense of morality, but after a bit of trial and error we realized that he’s at the center of all Thomas’s emotions, too. He’s also the goofy one. I mean, all of us have our moments, but his are always intentional.

“And then there’s me.” He smirked again.

“…his…fear?”

“We usually say ‘anxiety,’ but basically. Fear, worry, insecurity; if it triggers the fight-or-flight reflex, I’m involved.”

Dark could hardly believe his ears. “So…he needs you.”

“I was surprised too. I actually tried to leave once and everyone came barging in and begged me to come back. Apparently without my input Thomas turns into a clueless moron.”

This was unprecedented. None of the Egos had such a direct form of influence over their creators. Dark could feel himself getting excited at the possibilities.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, we’re almost there! I thought I could wrap it all up in this installment, but there’s one more misunderstanding to go…


	4. Chapter 4

“So, exactly how much control do you have over Thomas?”

Virgil took a moment to quirk a brow before answering. “It depends on the situation, doesn’t it? Sometimes I take the helm, sometimes it’s one of the others. Whoever responds to the context first. Sometimes it’s more than one of us, and then we argue until someone concedes or we reach a compromise.“ Dark nodded, but the other wasn’t done. “And it’s not like we have complete… _control_ over him. He can overrule us whenever he wants”

That was…well, it could be worked around with some practice, most likely. 

“I mean, he has the ability; he doesn’t always consciously realize that he can.” The other grimaced suddenly. “On the other hand…he…can…do it subconsciously too. He might not even realize he’s doing it.” The look of distaste lingered a moment longer, before Virgil looked to him again. “I thought this’d be instinctual stuff. Is it really that different for you?”

“I’m afraid so,” the dark Ego lamented. “I believe there is a greater difference between we Egos and you Sides than merely the words themselves. We are created characters. You and Sanders’ other creations appear to be unique in your status as facets of his actual self.”

“Hm.” The other drew himself inward as he considered this information. Dark gave him a moment, noticing when he seemed to still. 

“I’m assuming that from what you’ve told me, you’ve already tested your reach over Sanders’ mind.”

“What?”

“You’re under the impression that you can’t exceed your current boundaries,” Dark surmised. “I’ve been there before. And I know we’re not exactly similar concepts, but I consider myself pretty good at working around obstacles.”

The other met his eyes again, his stare like a bowstring. “What are you saying?”

Dark adjusted himself. Time for the sales pitch. “You posses an inherent ability that I have a great interest in, but you don’t appear to have fully developed it yet. As of now you are brimming with untapped potential. If you let me assist you as you train yourself in your powers, you can-”

Dark cut himself off as the eyes of his conversation partner abruptly broke contact to focus on something behind him.

“Verge?” Dark turned. Sanders. “I felt a spike, is everyth-“

“You have to leave.”

Dark whipped back around, but Virgil had already pushed himself up from the table and was making his way towards his creator.

“Wha, but-“

“ _Now_.”

“-uh, ‘scuse us!” Sanders called over his shoulder as Virgil snatched him by the arm and steered him away.

Dark watched them make it all the way to the door, Thomas struggling to keep up. Virgil shoved it open and tugged his creator outside, letting it shut behind them on its own. 

He wasn’t the only watching. The eyes of every Sanders Side seemed to have tracked their path. 

As a general rule, Darkiplier was unshakable.

In this case, though he would never admit it to anyone but himself, he got the distinct impression he had lost his footing. A sour realization was beginning to fester. 

He’d have to see what Google had gathered. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brownie points to anyone who realizes what Virgil is talking about when he says Thomas can subconsciously undermine them. 
> 
> Well, the main part of the story is done! I’ve got an epilogue in mind though, and I may still do a Google interlude.


	5. Chapter 5

“What do you mean, ‘ _he’s there right now?_ ’”

“He is! Been here a couple minutes, already started gettin’ chatty with the fresh faces.”

“Chatty? _Him?_ ”

“Well, okay, he’s done more listening than talking from what I’ve seen, but compared to what you say he’s usually like, he’s still acting like a fuckin’ social butterfly.”

That didn’t sound good. “Dammit. Well, I’m just a few minutes out. Ah, yours hasn’t shown up yet, right?”

“He wasn’t invited.”

“Pfft, like that would stop him.”

A grumble. “I know. Only thing that would is if we actually managed to keep this under the radar. Just get your ass over here.”

“It’s getting! …Hey, when you said ‘fresh faces,’ does that mean-“

“Er, yeah. He, um, he already spoke with Thomas. I think he’s headed this way.”

Shit. “Alright. Hang up and let me drive.”

* * *

Technically on time, but apparently way later than he needed to be, Mark pulled into the lot. 

He’d known that Dark trying to recruit people was inevitable, but he’d assumed he’d be around to keep an eye on him. But no, the dark Ego had actually gone over his head. The sad thing was, it was a sensible move on his part in retrospect. Mark only hoped he’d be able to control the damage. 

He noticed two figures loitering by the building’s entrance as he coaxed Chica out of the van. Neither looked familiar, but they had the same face. 

He turned to grab his phone. Looked like he’d bee meeting the new Egos a bit sooner than expected. 

Well, it was fair, in a way. Thomas’s first impression of him would be whatever he had gotten from Darkiplier, after all. 

Didn’t mean he had to like it. He shut the door. 

“Chica-?” She wasn’t there. Looking around, his eyes found their way to the two figures. The pupper had apparently decided to kickstart the introductions. They were already fully absorbed in petting her. Mark couldn’t help but smile to himself. Count on his bub to make a good impression. 

He strode over. One of the figures looked up from the petting and smiled sheepishly, rising to greet him. “Hey, uh, sorry. Should’ve asked first.”

“Don’t be, it’s not a problem. She ran to you, anyway.”

“True. I’m guessing you’re Mark?”

Chica nosed at the still-crouched figure when they paused. 

“Sure am. I’m afraid I don’t know who you are, though.”

“Oh!” He stuck out his hand. “Uh, Thomas. Thomas Sanders. Ah, but-just…Thomas is fine.” He tried to grin through a wince. The other figure cringed. 

Mark shook his hand firmly. “Ah, so you’re the one who has to deal with everyone else’s antics, huh?”

Thomas’s smile grew a bit more genuine. “Sounds about right. It’s not that bad, though.”

“Speak for yourself,” Mark huffed. “I feel like I can’t even breathe without something setting them off.”

“Oh believe me, I know. They’re always judging every little thing I do!”

“With good reason.”

At the sardonic tone, Mark turned to the other figure, who’s attention hadn’t actually left Chica yet.

“Hey,” Thomas chided. “I know it’s usually important, but in the moment it can seem pretty ridiculous.”

“Hm.”

“Seriously, you guys all together can be pretty embarrassing.”

“And yet you capitalize on your struggles by voluntarily sharing them with the entire internet. Which is really stressful, by the way.”

Mark watched Thomas sigh. “Yeah, it can be really nerve-wracking waiting for the feedback. But more often then not it helps a lot of other people out, and that makes me feel better about it too.”

“It _does_ lessen my drive to criticize you.“

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. Can I talk to Mark now?’

“You-you don’t have to wait for me to let you-”

“Cool.” The figure finally looked up, and Mark would later congratulate himself on not reacting outside of a double-blink. He hadn’t been able to see the eyeshadow before, and the overall effect was…

…actually not that intimidating. He looked to be trying a bit too hard, honestly. But hey, to each his own. 

These were the thoughts that flew through Mark’s head before the figure let out a stern “Okay, seriously, what made you think it was a good idea to give a face and figure to the worst aspects of human nature and release him onto the internet?”

“ _Virgil?!_ ”

“What?” the figure shot back defensively, oblivious to Mark’s reeling. “He’s creepy! Terrifying!”

“I know, but-”

“He wanted to groom me into his little _perfect example_ for cognitive distortion-”

“-okay, well-”

“-thought I was some kind of-of _mob boss_ that you were indebted to or something-”

“-weird comparison, you sure-”

“-just assumed that we had control over you just because we’re aspects _of_ you-”

“-that’s kinda true th-”

“ **-not to that extent!** ”

Mark, already tense when it sunk in exactly who they were arguing about, started at the sudden change in the figure’s, Virgil’s, voice. So did Thomas.

Eying Virgil, Mark made to step in front of the other YouTuber. Egos might clash with their own creators, but they tended to limit their interactions with others. His presence should be enough to deter the angry figure…

…and if this was technically Dark’s fault, he felt the need to take responsibility anyway.

But Thomas approached the other before he could take protective action. “Hey, hey.” His voice was pitched low, soft. “Easy. We’re outside, we’re okay. In for four…”

Mark observed, bemused, as Thomas led his Ego through a breathing exercise. Now that he took a second look, the mania in the character’s eyes didn’t seem to be born of anger, not directly at least. 

Gradually, Virgil’s frantic huffs settled, and he seemed to curl inwards where he stood. “Ugh, this is so embarrassing. I’m gonna be up all night thinking about this.”

“Please don’t,” Thomas whined. “I’ll already have enough to mull over from this whole shindig.”

“I know. Sorry about that.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. You should be a little nicer to Mark, though.”

“Hm?” Mark blinked.

“Do I _have_ to talk to him again?”

“You were so eager a second ago.”

“That was before I aired my frustrations. Now I’m frustrated for a different reason.”

“I know, but seriously. Put yourself in his position; with a Side like that? Try for some empathy.”

“Okay…” Mark watched as the Ego turned to address him, looking surprisingly sheepish, more like a kid caught stealing candy than a powerful alternative-persona trying to mend broken bridges. “Um…wow, your…nightmares must…suck.”

“I _don’t_ think that helped,” Thomas intoned through a wince.

“Hey, don’t blame me if that’s all _you_ could imagine me saying.”

“Okay, okay, hang on,” Mark interrupted, waving his hands as if to clear the air. The two faced him once again. “Look, whatever Darkiplier said to you, I apologize. I should’ve been here to head him off, and I’m sorry if he…intruded on anything. He worked around me this time, and,” he sighed, “honestly I should’ve foreseen that.”

“Hey, it’s alright.” Mark looked to Thomas, returning the smile that the other creator sent his direction. 

“Says you, you’re not the one who had to sit through a convo with the guy.”

“ _Virgil-_ ”

“But I get it, sort of,” the ego continued. “So,” he ducked his head, still strangely reserved despite the antagonistic attitude. “You’ve forgiven, or whatever.” The last part could barely be considered a mumble. 

“…thank you.” Mark said sincerely. He was still a bit confused, but mostly just relieved that the dark ego hadn’t preemptively damaged his standing with Thomas. “I should ask, though: what exactly did he want from you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild POV switch has appeared!
> 
> So originally this was gonna be the epilogue, but it got a lot longer than I expected, and it still ain’t done, so say hello to chapter 5.
> 
> Mark has a dog. Thomas loves dogs. I had to.
> 
> Literally most of this ‘epilogue’ sprung up around that bit with Thomas’s Anxiety ruminating about how horrible Mark’s nightmares must be to have thought up an avatar like Dark.


	6. Chapter 6

“I’d like to know that too, actually,” Mark heard Thomas say.

Virgil shifted. “Well, I didn’t think it was so bad at first. I mean, he started talking to me in the first place because he thought we were similar, but apparently we’re not.”

 _Similar?_ If Dark saw similarities between himself and this Virgil…Mark glanced at Thomas. He’d already proven that he was closer to this ego than Mark and Jack were to most of theirs, especially the sinister ones. Did he need to worry for the other creator? 

Mark and Jack had generally left each other to their own egos, no matter what happened. But since Dark had made the first move here, that might not be an option with him and Thomas.

“Similar how?” Thomas’s face as he prodded was open and trusting, making Mark all the more wary as he turned back to the speaker. 

They both watched as Virgil avoided eye contact by crouching over Chica again. “I was just getting to that when she ran over. Sides and Egos don’t follow the same rules, apparently. We thought they did, but he and I figured out some pretty important differences.” He glanced up at Mark. “If you’ve seen Inside Out, the Sides are a similar concept.”

“So, you’re his…emotions?”

“Yyyyyes and no.” Mark turned as Thomas picked up the slack. “Each one of them is a side _of myself_ ; they’re manifestations of my own personality, and each one embodies some of my own traits, and desires, and abilities or functions.” He turned back to the… _Side_ crouched by Mark’s dog. “So really, it’s more like if you combined the concept of the emotion characters with the concept of the islands, kind of?”

“What _island_ would I be? Pretty sure I’m just a Fear-Disgust fusion.” 

“Weeeeeell-”

“Now if Joy and Sadness went to live on Family Island for the rest of their lives, that’d be Patton to at T.” 

“To a…Logan would hate you for that.”

“Yeah, but Princey would be mad he didn’t think of it first.”

“That wasn’t even intentional, was it.”

“No.”

Mark watched their banter, feeling his suspicion ebb away despite himself.

Yes, that was a very big difference. He observed Virgil with new eyes. So this was a piece of Thomas himself? Knowing that, it was a bit harder to reconcile him with Darkiplier, no matter his demeanor.

Then again, it was possible for people to have self-destructive traits. Or aspects of themselves that they hated. Inner demons. But Thomas and Virgil were getting along too well for that to be the case between them. 

“What got you so upset though?” Mark’s attention returned to the conversation when he heard Thomas’s tone change from fond exasperation to puzzlement. “From what I’m aware, you two were just mumbling cordially to each other and then all of a sudden _I_ feel like panicking for no discernable reason.”

“Speaking softly isn’t the same as mumbling,” Virgil huffed, though without much energy. “But yeah, that was probably around the time I realized that he hadn’t meant the same thing I did when I told him I was the embodiment of someone’s fear.”

Oh. 

“So, that’s why you were so eager to get me away from him when I came over to ask what was wrong?” Thomas’s voice was subdued.

“Hey, just because I had a better idea of what he was didn’t mean I knew what we’d be dealing with if he decided to try something.” Virgil returned his attention to Mark. “So, what exactly do I need to worry about? I mean, the coercion to pull one over on Thomas has me on edge already, but it’d be nice to know why.”

Mark sighed. “He…doesn’t like me. A lot of egos don’t like their creators, and we don’t always know why. Sometimes even they don’t know. You’re right, conceptually they’re really different from Sides. I won’t say they’re more abstract, but…they’re more separate, I guess. Darkiplier isn’t a part of me in that sense.  I actually…” He bit his lip. “I wrote him as a representation of everything I never want to be. So.” He inhaled, hoping they wouldn’t ask him to elaborate. 

Thomas nodded, pensive. Virgil was staring into space as he scratched behind Chica’s ears. Probably reviewing the encounter in his head, Mark figured. 

“Still think it was a dumb idea to let him loose.”

“I was supposed to get here before he did,” Mark griped. “Usually at functions like this I can keep him corralled, to an extent. And he’s always been popular; it’s harder to keep an active hold on the popular ones.”

“What does that mean? Why would someone like him be popular?”

“Oh,” Thomas interjected. “You mean because he was originally a fan concept? I did hear about that.” 

“Yeah,” confirmed Mark. “Now that he has an established canon, he’s a bit more limited in what he can do, but he also has more power to do it, if that makes sense.” Mark looked back to Virgil, for some reason feeling that the Side especially was owed an explanation. “You’ve probably figured out by now, but he operates on a different level of ‘fiction versus reality’ than you do.”

The Side nodded. “We both figured it out. That’s actually when he got really eager.” He seemed to cringe, his eyes darting between Mark and his own creator. “That’s not gonna cause problems, is it? Thomas, I told him how we work, how this-“ he gestured between the two of them, “-works. He wanted to know how much influence I had over you.”

“A fair bit, considering you exist in this capacity,” Thomas remarked, pointing to all of Virgil. 

“ _No_ , he made it sound like-like hypnosis or possession or something.”

“Like you’re _compelling_ him?” Mark hazarded.

“Like I’m _forcing_ him,” Virgil insisted, frustration clear in his voice. He was curled almost entirely around Chica. 

“Well it’s not like you guys haven’t done things like that before.”

Virgil’s head whipped around so quickly Mark could feel the whiplash in his own neck. “ _What?_ ”

“Well you have,” Thomas repeated, seeming unbothered by the admission. “Remember the phone call? When we were in Patton’s room?” 

Virgil scowled. “I guess,” he said in a small voice. 

“Hey, I’m not upset about it,” Thomas assured. “You were right, it was going to be a disaster. But I didn’t exactly hang up of my own volition. Even if it was me doing the physical hanging-up.” 

“Yeah. I didn’t think you were gonna _throw_ it, though. That was all you.”

“We can argue about that later. Honestly, it sounds like Darkiplier had a point. You guys do have a measure of control that it sounds like the Egos don’t.”

“But he wants in on it, that’s the _problem_.” Virgil turned, and Mark was taken aback by the nervousness in his eyes. “Isn’t it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had no idea where I wanted this chapter’s discussion to go so I kinda let it do its own thing. I hope it’s easy to follow. And it’s still not done. Can you believe this was originally going to be a oneshot?
> 
> That pun was, believe it or not, entirely unintentional, but I had to keep it in once I made it.


	7. Chapter 7

“You know,” Mark said thoughtfully, “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

“Oh, good.”

“You don’t?”

Thomas seemed to accept the answer more readily, but Virgil immediately ducked his head again after questioning. Mark glanced back at Thomas momentarily before stepping forward and joining Chica on the pavement. The pup seemed to be enjoying her new occupation as a therapy dog, and Mark figured she wouldn’t mind if he helped reassure her client. He scratched her chin.

“I don’t. Actually, it sounds like he’s ruined his chance of ever having any relation with you.” The Side looked up at that, and Mark found himself grinning. “Darkiplier has it in for me specifically, and Egos tend to avoid contact with creators other than their own, so you shouldn’t have to worry about him trying anything with Thomas. And I’m guessing you already mistrust him too much to let him try anything with _you_.”

“Definitely,” Virgil agreed. “But…you both mentioned fan popularity. And like you said, he’s a different kind of fictional. Does he dupe a lot of people?”

“Not exactly,” Mark said. “Most fans tend to understand that he can’t be trusted, but they still want to see him. He makes for an intriguing character, and my idea behind him is really creative.”

Mark would’ve preened jokingly, but he found himself caught off guard as the Side slumped forward and muttered a curse into Chica’s fur. “So that’s how it is,” he moaned. 

“Whoa, wait, you’re worried about Roman?” Mark looked to Thomas for clarity as the other spoke up.

“Think about it,” Virgil cried, extracting himself from the retriever. “If he can’t come at it from the angle of intimidation, he’ll come at it from the angle of being a character in a story.” Mark thought he seemed paler under the eyeshadow. “They’ve already spoken, too.”

“Do you really think Roman would fall for something like that, though?”

“He fell for-!” Virgil cut himself off, stilling abruptly.

Thomas seemed to know what he was getting at. “Not in the end, he didn’t. And besides, it’s still an issue of conceptual differences. Just like we now know not to trust any ides Dark may give us, something tells me he isn’t actively planting ideas in Mark’s head.” Mark nodded. 

Virgil frowned in thought, rubbing Chica’s back. “I still wanna know what Dark said to him. I’m going in.”

“Want me along?” Thomas asked.

“Id prefer you didn’t, actually. Call it an extra precaution.”

“No biggie.”

“I might hide behind Patton for the rest of the party, though. Maybe the aura of ethical purity will hold him off.” As Thomas struggled to contain the mirth brought on by this statement, Virgil stood and made his way to the door, turning back to look at Mark. “Thanks for the reassurance, though. Uh…good luck.” And then he was inside. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had two ideas for the direction of this chapter, and ended up going with neither of them. (One involved comparing Dark to a certain slimy boi, and gambling puns would've been made. The other involved comparing the evolution of how fan's perceive Dark over the years to Virgil's canon development since his introduction. But neither panned out, so I have this instead.) I honestly never imagined I’d be involving Roman any more than I already had. 
> 
> Honestly this is the most ending-ish a chapter has been so far (and the shortest, I think!), but I still don’t feel like it’s quite done. So, we’ll see what happens next.


	8. Chapter 8

Maybe he was only getting Thomas out of the way so he wouldn’t overhear. The creator had interrupted them, after all. Perhaps the dark Side just wanted to make sure they weren’t further disturbed.

The longer they were outside, the less plausible that idea seemed.

Dark moodily eyed Virgil’s abandoned Gatorade. If the Side really was eager to hear his piece, he would’ve been back by now. He was Thomas’s fear, it shouldn’t take him so long to scare the man off. The Ego’s frown deepened. Had he come on too strong? He had been aiming for a more amicable approach with his offer. Said approach had seemed to be working until he actually began his proposition.

Alright, maybe he wasn’t willing to collaborate. But why not just say so? Why the eagerness to get Thomas away?

Dark grimaced.

He knew the answer already. He just wasn’t willing to believe it.  

His eyes flew to the door as soon as it opened. Virgil entered alone, to his surprise. He watched as the Side scanned the venu before making a beeline for the smiling man in the cardigan, awkwardly standing to the side as the other finished his conversation with the zombie before turning to greet him, his conduct open and inviting. Virgil’s posture remained guarded as they spoke.

Alright, suppose Virgil was the comprehension of fear rather than its administrator. Surely existence as the fear of another was stifling? Dark could offer safety and security. He could paint such an offer as the freedom the Side surely wanted. Imagine not having to worry for someone else; wouldn’t that be liberating?

Now he hadn’t initially taken that approach, due to the misapplication of definitions for what Sides and Egos were. The question was-

The smile faded from the face of the cardigan man, and he drew a step closer to his fellow Side. By contrast, Virgil finally seemed to loosen.

_There’s no question. It won’t work now._

-the question was, did he have another chance? Would the Side be open to hearing his new offer?

“Unfortunately Dark is more willing to search out flaws in his approach than he is to accept that beings that so closely resemble Egos can have such a loyalty to their creator.”

Dark flexed his fingers. “Silence yourself or I’ll come up with a reason for you to lose your tongue as well as your eyes.”

The Host smirked, but obliged, moving off to wherever. Dark honestly didn’t care at the moment.

Honestly, though. How was he supposed to anticipate this?

Virgil and the other (Patton, Dark realized) had begun moving towards Roman. Dark surmised that they would draw Logan in too at some point. it was not use trying to establish a rapport with any of the Sanders Sides.

What a disappointment.

The door opened again, and Dark searched it out in favor of not having to observe the fruits of his failure. Sanders walked in, holding it open for-

Damn it.

Damn everything.

_Damn you to the seventh circle and back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Virgil’s worry for Roman turned out to be inconsequential in the end, but better safe then sorry. Lucky for them Dark broods a lot and the Host was feeling savage. 
> 
> A-and…this is the end, isn’t it? It seems like as good a place to settle down as any. I left the original stopping point behind a while ago, and I’m still in uncharted territory. Yes, I think I’ve traveled far enough. I said in the beginning that this fanfic was about the journey and not the destination, but I was just speaking in terms of the characters; I didn’t think the adage would be applied to me too! 
> 
> Thank you all so much for accompanying me through this. Your enthusiasm means the world to me.


End file.
